Judge reverses decision, orders Israel’s lottery to turn off slot machines

The saga of Israel’s on-again, off-again slot machines continues—only this time, the High Court of Justice wants the state lottery company to shut down (again) all slot machines in the country.

Two days after allowing the 500 slot machines and 150 keno machines to operate, Justice Yoram Danzinger told national lottery monopoly Mifal Hapayis to turn them off “at the behest of the treasury and its battle against state-sponsored gambling,” Haaretz reported.

If you recall, the state-backed lottery company had to shut down its slot and keno machines on New Year’s Eve after it failed to reach an agreement with the treasury on the renewal of its operating license. Mifal Hapayis requested for an extension, which officials from the finance ministry allowed but on the condition that the lottery operator would immediately switch off its automated games of chance.

The shutdown has prompted Mifal Hapayis franchisees, who operate the machines, sell lottery tickets and provide sports betting services, to plead for an intervention from the High Court, saying that the order to shutter the machines came “without prior notice” and has “seriously harmed their incomes.”